

The song begins with a peculiar sound, which was the result of just trying things out and experimenting. And I just started writing on the back of a napkin about how she was, and that’s what turned into the verse.” And I’d seen this girl working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. “And we’d been to America and it had a lot of references to America in it.
#Duran duran save a prayer location tv
“We were like, ‘Yeah!’ It absolutely, does,” said Simon in reference to Roger’s suggestion on the UK TV show Songbook. “I came up with the title Rio,” said Roger Taylor, “which I thought sort of said it all in kind of a Roxy Music cool sort of way.” The resulting song at one point had the title Amy A-Go-Go. “Stevie’s Radio Station” by TV Eye, which provided musical inspiration for the chorus of Rio. Just like that river twisting through a dusty landĪnd when she shines she really shows you all she can Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand Two of a billion stars it means so much to meīut then I’m sure that you know it’s just for you I’ve seen you on the beach and I’ve seen you on TV

Which they did, after Hungry Like the Wolf peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1983. On the VH1 show True Spin, the band explained this reference: Rio is a metaphor for America, and the song expressed their desire to succeed there. The Rio Grande River separates the US from Mexico. The lyrics clearly state, however, “from mountains in the North down to the Rio Grande,” which is the span of America. Rio is continually sung as if it’s a girl’s name, and the word conjures images of the popular and glamorous Brazilian city, which goes with the exotic image the band was cultivating. The song contains some interesting wordplay in the lyrics. The song was the fourth and final single lifted from the band’s album of the same name, and becoming a Top 10 hit in both the UK, Ireland, Canada, and – eventually – the US. It was first released as a single in Australia in August 1982, followed by a UK release on 1 November 1982. Rio was the band’s seventh single overall, and the fourth from the Rio album. Simon Le Bon explained on social media, “I was in a restaurant in the middle of town and I saw this waitress literally swanning across the floor, and that was how the lyric was born.” These lines were however inspired by a moment in Birmingham, England rather than somewhere like the Brazilian beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Moving on the floor now babe you’re a bird of paradiseĬherry ice cream smile I suppose it’s very nice The song’s opening lines waste no time in bringing those very elements to the forefront of our minds with its references to suave ladies and exotic locations.

Ultimately, the song serves as the best entry point into the vast discography of Duran Duran.Rio is the quintessential Duran Duran song, launching the 1980s as a glamorous decade filled with high fashion, models, and luxurious surroundings. Notably, Eagles of Death Metal covered the song in 2015 on their album Zipper Down and performed the song live with Duran Duran in the fall of 2015. The song hit #2 on the UK charts and was not released as an official single in the US until early 1985, when it reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was filmed in Sri Lanka in April 1982 and lends itself to the song’s mystique. The video helped solidify Duran Duran even further with the MTV crowd. “And you wanted to dance so I asked you to dance / But fear is in your soul / Some people call it a one night stand / But we can call it paradise / Don’t say a prayer for me now / Save it ’til the morning after”. Lyrically, it captures the yin and yang of wanting to let go without any worries and facing the realization that “no strings” usually is an imaginary theory. For me, this is where the band began to transcend their association with the New Romantic movement of the early 80’s. Simon Le Bon’s vocals lend a weight to the proceedings that make the listener feel a sense of spiritual yearning, though the song is mostly about a 1 night stand. Backed by an eerie synth riff that is also insanely memorable, it also serves as my favorite Duran Duran song. At the time, it was the most successful Duran Duran single in the band’s brief history. Save a Prayer was the sixth single released by Duran Duran, making its way to the airwaves on August 9, 1982. One thing is certain – all of them are killer tracks. Some of the tracks were singles, some of them were obscure b-sides or long forgotten album tracks.

#Duran duran save a prayer location series
Attack of the Killer Track! is a series that explores tracks from artists from a variety of genres.
